Toyota, en çok satan modeli ve dünyanın en popüler arabası olan Corolla’nın 50. yaş gününü kutladı. Otomobil, ilk olarak 1966 yılında Japonya’da piyasaya çıkmıştı; şimdi ise dünya çapında 44 milyondan fazla satış rakamına ulaştı.
1960'larda Corolla geniş iç hacmi, zemine monteli vites kolu, ayrık ön koltukları ve geniş arka koltuklarıyla tüm insanlara uygun bir otomobil olarak tasarlanmıştı. Model, yalnızca üç yıl içinde pazarın en çok satan otomobili oldu ve hızlı bir şekilde dünyadaki diğer ülkelere de yayıldı.
Tanıtımından yalnızca iki yıl sonra, Corolla üretimini 1.1 milyon yaparak ikiye katladı. 1968’de Kuzey Amerika’ya ihraç edilmeye başlanan model, 1970’de burada bir milyon adet satış rakamına ulaşmayı başardı.
Corolla, şu anda on birinci jenerasyonuyla piyasada ve 1977’de ulaştığı 22.65 milyon adet satış rakamından beridir dünyanın en çok satan otomobili olmayı sürdürüyor. Şu anda Toyota, Kuzey Amerika ve Avrupa pazarlarında Corolla’nın iki farklı versiyonunu satıyor. İki model de önden çekişli ve sedan.
Son jenerasyon Corolla’dan konuşmuşken, otomobilin temelde orijinal modeliyle hiçbir ortak noktası yok. Son jenerasyon daha geniş, daha uzun ve mekanik anlamda farklı bir platform kullanıyor. Karşılaştırma olması açısından, tarihin en çok satan ikinci otomobili ve 20 milyon satış rakamına ulaşan ilk otomobil olan Volkswagen Beetle'ın, 65 yıllık tarihine rağmen görsel olarak çok fazla değişmediğini hatırlatalım. Hatta bazı insanlar, modelin çok az değiştiğini ve aracın 1936’da kullanılan gövdesini 2003 modelinin şasisine yerleştirmenin mümkün olduğunu söylüyorlar.
Corolla’ya dönecek olursak, Toyota bu yılın başlarında Corolla’nın 50. Yıl Versiyonu’nu tanıttı (üstteki fotoğraf). Amerika Birleşik Devletleri için tasarlanan otomobil 2017 Corolla SE’yi temel alıyor. Özel model, koyu gri uçlu 17inçlik alaşım jantları, yenilenmiş LED farları ve start tuşlu ‘Akıllı Anahtar’ sistemiyle sunuluyor.
Mutlu yıllar, Corolla!
Kaynak: Toyota
Fotoğraflar: Toyota
TOYOTA COROLLA: 50 YEARS OF THE WORLD’S BEST-SELLING CAR
- Fiftieth anniversary of the Toyota Corolla, the world’s most popular car
- More than 44 million sales in 150 countries
- Distinguished history in the UK, including local production at Toyota’s Burnaston factory and back-to-back British Touring Car Championship titles
This year the Toyota Corolla reaches its 50th anniversary, another milestone for the world’s most popular car. Since the original model was introduced in Japan in 1966, more than 44 million have been sold worldwide.
Although Corolla has not been part of the UK model range since 2008, it remains an important part of Toyota’s global line-up, manufactured in 16 plants worldwide. Its lasting popularity is reflected in the fact that one in every five new vehicles sold in Toyota’s 79-year history has been a Corolla.
For a full gallery of every generation of Corolla, click here.
Corolla origins
Corolla was designed to be a “people’s car,” introduced in saloon and estate body styles and displaying higher build quality and – for its time – lavish equipment features. The specification included a floor-mounted gear lever, individual front bucket seats with generous padding and a spacious rear bench that was likened to a family sofa. Although classed as a compact car, its high roof height made the interior feel exceptionally roomy.
Toyota’s hopes for Corolla (a name drawing on the Latin term for a ‘crown of flowers’) were soon realised with the first generation model becoming Japan’s top-selling vehicle within three years. The success quickly spread to other countries around the world.
In developing each of Corolla’s 11 generations, Toyota has remained true to its original principles of building a car with superior quality, reliability and durability. And with each new model, it has analysed customer feedback to ensure Corolla continues to deliver what its customers want.
Corolla in the UK
Corolla was Toyota’s second model to be imported into the UK, following the Corona into showrooms within its launch year, 1966. Through successive generations and a wide range of body styles, it continued to be available up to 2008 when the Corolla name was dropped from the original Verso compact MPV. Within that timespan it achieved more than 560,000 sales.
Its popularity here and in Europe prompted Toyota to build five-door hatchback models at its Burnaston factory in Derbyshire between 1988 and 2006. Production ended to make way for Auris, Toyota’s new (and current) compact hatchback for the European market.
Although renowned as an appealing family car for everyday driving, Corolla demonstrated its genuine performance edge in UK motorsports. The famous Corolla GT rear-wheel drive coupe was driven by Chris Hodgetts to victory in the 1986 British Touring Car Championship – a feat he repeated the following year.
Production history
Toyota opened a new, purpose-built factory in Takaoka for the original Corolla and within two years had started production of region-specific versions in Australia and Malaysia. Annual production more than doubled to 1.1 million by 1968.
In addition to being built in the UK, Corolla has also been manufactured at Toyota’s Sakarya plant in Turkey – the factory has been producing the 11th generation model since 2013.
Corolla exports to North America began in 1968, helping the model reach its first million sales by 1970. It has enjoyed the status of being the world’s best-selling model since 1997, when cumulative sales reached 22.65 million; by 2013, that figure passed through the four million mark.